Insights on embracing creativity and pursuing your dreams with Amber Rae
In our latest Insight Series, we reflected on the power of creativity, navigating difficult emotions, and following your dreams with bestselling author, speaker, and teacher, Amber Rae. Amber shares her unique experience pursuing her passions through tough times and as a new mom, and shares her advice on how to stay true to yourself. Keep reading for Amber’s powerful insights on balancing it all as a new parent!
As a parent and someone who writes and teaches about emotions and creativity, what’s one practical insight you've learned that other parents could benefit from?
After becoming a mom, being displaced by the LA fires, sleeping in 17 different hotel rooms, Airbnbs, and homes in five months, and moving across the country—while launching a book and raising my son—I learned that creativity isn’t just something I do. It’s something I return to.
It’s how I find myself again when everything feels uncertain, chaotic, or like it’s all falling apart.
Even when my life was packed in suitcases and we didn’t know where we’d land next, I could still write a sentence. Scribble a thought. Come up with an idea. And that tiny act of making—it grounded me. It made me feel connected to myself, my purpose, and what brings me alive.
I used to have long, spacious stretches to create. Entire days and weeks dedicated to writing. Now, sometimes I have fifteen minutes to make something true and honest—like right now, with my son asleep on me. And that’s enough. It helps me remember who I am in the middle of it all. It also helps me feel more energized and present as a parent—because I feel resourced.
So my gentle nudge to other parents is this: work on the thing that moves you. The thing you long to create. Even in the mess. Even if only for fifteen minutes.
How do you think writing, journaling, or other creative outlets prepare expecting moms for motherhood? What resources do you recommend for those looking to get started?
Writing, journaling, and creativity help you stay connected to yourself during a time when everything—your identity, your body, your relationships—is changing. It gives you a place to ask the big questions, to process what’s hard to say out loud, and to record the moments you want to remember. A simple prompt like, ‘What do I know to be true today?’ can go a long way. For those looking to go deeper, I love The Artist’s Way, or my own The Feelings Journal which is filled with gentle prompts to help you check in with yourself as you move through all the newness.
Motherhood can be messy! We love that you share that side of your life. What would you say to moms out there who are trying to do it all?
You weren’t meant to do it all. You were meant to be honest about what you need and what’s truly deserving of your attention and energy. The pressure to be everything to everyone will burn you out if you let it.
What I’ve learned is that asking for help, setting boundaries, and honoring my limits doesn’t make me weak—it makes me a better mother, partner, and human. I’ve fallen into the trap of thinking my worth is measured by how much I accomplish or give. But I’ve found it’s in the quiet moments—when I pause, check in, and take care of myself—that I feel most whole. That’s how I show up resourced. For my family. And for the things that matter.
"Writing, journaling, and creativity help you stay connected to yourself during a time when everything—your identity, your body, your relationships—is changing."
Your book Choose Wonder Over Worry offers powerful advice on navigating difficult emotions. What’s one practical insight from the book that you think could really help new parents as they navigate the emotional ups and downs of this transition?
There’s so much external noise in parenting—so many experts, books, opinions—that it’s easy to start doubting yourself. One moment you feel grounded, the next you’re spiraling because someone on Instagram said you should be doing it differently.
One of the most practical tools from Choose Wonder Over Worry is learning to tune out the external noise so you can tune back in to yourself. When I notice that anxious spin—Am I doing this right? Should I be doing more of this, less of that?—I pause and ask, What feels true for me and my child right now?
It sounds simple, but that question has helped me come back to my own knowing again and again. Because no expert knows your baby better than you do. And no system or method matters more than what feels aligned for your family.
What tips do you have for other new or expecting moms who are pursuing their dreams while pregnant, postpartum, or facing adversity?
Redefine progress and trust the pace of your season. You might not move fast, but you can move meaningfully. I finished the final edits on my book six weeks postpartum in tiny windows—during contact naps, after night feeds, while pumping. Trust the pace of your season. And don’t be afraid to ask for support. You’re still allowed to want big things for your life.
"Asking for help, setting boundaries, and honoring my limits doesn’t make me weak—it makes me a better mother, partner, and human."
What inspires you? How do you continue to find inspiration for new projects?
Real life. The honest, unfiltered, in-the-thick-of-it moments. My best writing typically comes when I give voice to what’s most true—or write the thing I’m afraid to say out loud.
When I mentor creatives, I always say: use your life as the material. If you want to write but aren’t writing because you have a loud inner perfectionist, start by writing down what that voice is saying. That deeply personal experience you're having is often a mirror for what others are feeling too. The more specific and honest you are, the more universal it becomes.
Envy can also be a powerful compass. When I feel a pang of envy toward someone else’s freedom, success, or ease, I don’t shame it—I follow it. Usually, it points to an unmet need or a desire I haven’t fully owned yet. And that, too, is where inspiration can be found.
Congratulations on your new memoir Loveable! How do you balance sharing your truth with keeping certain parts of your personal life private?
I have a rule: write first, edit later. I write everything I need to say—first, for me. Because writing is how I process, heal, and figure out how I feel. Then, later, I consider: Is this something I’m ready to share? Does this serve the story? Will it serve the reader?
I also consider the idea of “sharing from the scar, not the wound.” If something still feels raw or unresolved, unless that rawness brings beauty and depth to the story, I generally wait. There’s a difference between telling the truth and telling everything—and I’ve learned to trust myself to know the line.
If you could give one tip to new or expecting mothers to encourage them to stay true to themselves, what would it be?
Tune out the noise. Tune into yourself. There are so many opinions out there—about sleep, feeding, your body, your work. But only you know what’s true for you.
When the overwhelm hits, try this: close your eyes, take a breath, and ask, What feels right and true for me right now? Maybe a clear answer comes, or maybe you’re met with silence. Either is okay. Just keep asking. Keep coming back to your own source of wisdom. That’s where your truth lives.
Amber Rae is a mom and the author of three books (including her new memoir, Loveable) and one guided journal. Stay connected with Amber through her website, amberrae.com and her Instagram handle, @heyamberrae.
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